Pirates Of The Caribbean 6: Johnny Depp's Return

Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is in development, but there's still no release date. Here are all the details so far about Pirates of the Caribbean 6.

Pirates of the Caribbean 6 updates have kept the continuation of the Disney franchise alive despite a considerable hiatus since the last entry. How the Pirates of the Caribbean story will continue, and whether Johnny Depp will return remains a mystery though. When Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was released, its enormous success was unexpected. Before 2003, pirate movies were seen as guaranteed box office flops, but the franchise has remained popular ever since, constantly proving its international mass appeal and earning Depp an Oscar nomination for his role as Jack Sparrow.

2017's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, earned close to $800 million worldwide, and Disney first announced plans for another swashbuckling pirate adventure back in 2018. The studio also has plans to change up the franchise and expand it in the future, so Disney also announced another installment — a reboot with Margot Robbie in the lead role, which was canceled — would go into development alongside the sequel. However, after several years, the film is still in early development with the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 release date on the distant horizon. Here's what to expect from the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

The Latest Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 News

While Pirates of the Caribbean 6 news continues to probe the question of whether or not the franchise's biggest star, Johnny Depp, will return for the sixth movie. Following his lengthy legal battles and strong fan support, there are reports (via People) that Johnny Depp and Disney could collaborate once again. Depp reportedly felt betrayed by the studio after they seemingly cut ties with him as the legal drama escalated, but now there is word that “If it’s the right project, he’ll do it.” Clearly, many fans hope that "right project" would see Depp returning to the role of Jack Sparrow for Pirates of the Caribbean 6.

While Depp's involvement in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 seems to becoming more of a possibility, there may also be new interest in the proposed reboot of the franchise. Margot Robbie's Pirates of the Caribbean movie was initially planned as the continuation of the franchise, but development was then canceled as Disney decided to take yet another new direction for Pirates of the Caribbean 6. However, the recent success of Barbie suddenly makes Robbie a very appealing lead for such a big franchise movie. It shows that she is perhaps one of the few actors who could take over the franchise from Depp and make it her own, and her performance in Barbie has reopened conversations amongst viewers on social media about why the Margot Robbie Pirates of the Carribean 6 isn't going ahead.

It seems that the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie will be the defining one for the future of the franchise. Disney could feel tempted to return to the proven success of Depp as Jack Sparrow, but there are certainly risks involved. While his fanbase has been strong throughout his legal battles, it is unclear how the larger public feels about the actor. While there are many who would be eager for a Pirates of the Caribbean 6 return, there are equally those who'd balk at the idea of Depp once again starring in a family-friendly Disney movie. Meanwhile, Robbie seems ready to carry her own franchise now, but if Disney hesitates to capitalize on her post-Barbie fame, she will likely look elsewhere for her next be project.

Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Is Confirmed To Be In Development

There's no Pirates of the Caribbean 6 release date yet, but the new Pirates movie isn't dead in the water. After Deadpool co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick dropped out of the Pirates of the Caribbean new movie in 2019, Disney chose writers Craig Mazin and Ted Elliott to write the script instead. Mazin created HBO’s miniseries Chernobyl, while Elliott worked on the first Pirates movie Curse of the Black Pearl. Director Joachim Rønning is also set to return. In late 2022 Jerry Bruckheimer provided a promising update regarding the Pirates 6 movie, saying that writer Ted Elliot is in the process of developing the script.

Back in 2018, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production’s President, Sean Bailey, was open to the idea of giving the franchise a “kick in the pants,” saying in an interview (via The Hollywood Reporter) that the studio wanted to bring new energy to the movies. Speculation and rumors have suggested Pirates of the Caribbean 6 would be a soft reboot of the franchise, similar to the Transformers prequel spinoff Bumblebee, but it’s unclear what would be wiped out from the series’ past storylines and timeline.

Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Cast

The final Pirates of the Caribbean 6 cast hasn't been confirmed. There's been plenty of speculation floating around online, however. Both Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly have been rumored to make a possible return to the Pirates franchise as Will and Elizabeth Turner. However, when Knightley discussed a possible Pirates return, she seemed content with saying "she sailed away so nicely." This is an exciting prospect for many fans since neither of the characters were truly present in the 4th and 5th installments. There's also considerable demand for fan favorites like Geoffrey Rush's Captain Barbossa or Joshamee Gibbs, played by Kevin McNally. However, nothing has been confirmed by Disney, the respective actors, or Bruckheimer.

There's no shortage of names in the returning Pirates of the Caribbean actor pool. Bill Nighy has expressed the desire to play the iconic villain Davy Jones once again. Lee Arenberg, who played the pirate Pintel, is another past cast member happy to appear in another movie. Beyond willing actors, nothing indicates either character will return, though. Actress Kaya Scodelario revealed to Screen Rant in 2017 that she’d been contracted for another Pirates movie and was interested in returning as Carina Smyth. This indicates Disney has or had plans for Smyth after discovering she was Barbossa's daughter in Pirates Of The Caribbean 5.

It's worth noting that, since Pirates of the Caribbean 6 has been in development so long, the news of the final cast is forever changing. Margot Robbie was attached to the project at one point, and Kaya Scoledario's Carina Smyth return was hinted at six years ago (when the franchise plans were likely very different). While the important positive takeaway is that the actors and actresses involved seem to be interested in returning, any PotC 6 cast news is entirely speculative at this point. The big question of course lingers around Johnny Depp's return as Jack Sparrow. Over the years this has gone from near-certainty in the time directly after Pirates of the Caribbean 5 was released, to reportedly an absolute impossibility around the time of his legal troubles, to a huge unknown as of 2023.

Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Story Details

The Pirates of the Caribbean 6 story details are unclear as it is still not decided which direction the franchise will take going forward. Details have been scarce, but it's known Disney wants a female-driven story. Recently changed from captive to pirate queen, the character of Redd from the theme park ride would be a welcomed addition to the franchise that gives a nod to the ride that started it all. Originally, Margot Robbie's involvement asa new character, was thought to mean that she could bring Redd to the screen. However, the Margot Robbie Pirates of the Caribbean movie was subsequently canceled, meaning audiences are still left in the dark as to what the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 plot could be.

Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 Trailer

Since the film is in the earliest stages of development, there is no Pirates of the Caribbean 6 trailer. Audiences will simply have to wait until the film is out of its development stages with production wrapped before anything on this front can be confirmed. This includes teasers, Pirates of the Caribbean behind-the-scenes photos, and facts, as well as anything else revealed about the production process.

The Margot Robbie Pirates Spin-Off Is Canceled

Many were confused that there were two Pirates movies in the mix, one of them being led by Margot Robbie and an all-female pirate crew. However, Robbie's project has been canceled. Apparently, the all-female pirate story was not meant to be Pirates of the Caribbean 6, but rather, its own property penned by Christina Hodson, who also wrote Birds of Prey. The two were first attached to the project in 2020, but for reasons unknown, Disney decided not to give the film a chance, which at least clears up the confusion around the multiple new Pirates of the Caribbean movies

According to Robbie (via Vanity Fair), she was excited about the prospect of setting sail on the high seas, but unfortunately, Robbie's pirate movie didn't come to fruition because Disney simply didn't want it. The actress said, "We had an idea and we were developing it for a while, ages ago, to have more of a female-led – not totally female-led, but just a different kind of story – which we thought would’ve been really cool, but I guess they don’t want to do it." Pirate of the Caribbean 6 is still being worked on by Disney studios, with the latest update being that a script is finally being written.